The present invention generally relates to embolization or occlusion devices for the human and animal body.
An embolization or occlusion device can be placed within the lumen or interior space of an organ or physiological conduit including arteries, veins, vessels, the bilary tree, the urinary tract, the alimentary tract, the tracheobronchial tree, the genitourinary system, and the cerebral aqueduct. Occlusion devices are used for a number of different purposes, all with the common feature that it is desired to limit or stop the free flow of fluid or blood in an area of the body.
One example of an endovascular field of application for occlusion devices for percutaneous, transluminal insertion using minimally invasive techniques, is occlusion of an aneurism to prevent rupture of the vessel wall with resulting bleeding. Other applications include occlusion or treatment of varicose veins, occlusion of arteriovenous malformations (AVM), blocking of the blood flow to a tumor, and/or closure of traumatically conditioned blood flows caused by wounds, bodily injuries or gastrointestinal bleeding.
Occlusion devices can be used in many different places in the vascular system and in vessels of differing sizes and geometries. Therefore, many different occlusion devices have been designed with various basic predetermined shapes and of varying sizes. Conventionally, the predetermined shape of the occlusion device is made so that the body of the device has a diameter of the same size or slightly larger than the relevant vessel lumen, so that the body of the device exerts an abutment pressure against the vessel wall. When it is desirable to quickly occlude a blood vessel, an inflatable balloon may be temporarily used. Another example of a more permanent occlusion device includes embolization coils, which may promote blood clots or tissue growth over a period of time, thereby occluding the body cavity and/or vessel lumen. Occlusion devices having other shapes and structures may also be used as necessary or desired, including but not limited to barrels, disks, wires and/or fibers.
To deliver an occlusion device, a delivery assembly including a guidewire and a catheter may be placed transluminally in the vascular system having its distal catheter end at the site of placement. When the occlusion device leaves the distal end of the catheter, it seeks to assume a predetermined shape within the vessel or alternatively, it can be mechanically expanded within the vessel. If the size and shape of the device are deemed suitable for the vessel geometry at the site of placement, the occlusion device is disconnected from the components of the delivery assembly and the assembly removed from the vasculature.
Disclosed herein is an improved occlusion device for occluding a body lumen and/or vessel. Also disclosed is a delivery assembly and methods for placing and retrieving an occlusion device within a body vessel.